A Florida man who allegedly kidnapped a businessman in Thailand and tried to collect a $2 million ransom has been denied bail while he fights extradition.

Shawn Abraham Shaw was arrested in Palm Beach in November after Thai authorities accused him of drugging, kidnapping and threatening to kill the man during a 2013 trip to Phuket.

But Shaw claims he is being framed by the alleged victim - a Las Vegas businessman who travels to Thailand for work - because he wants to steal one of his ideas.

A US federal judge deemed the 43-year-old a flight risk and refused to release him from jail ahead of the extradition hearing next month, according to the Sun Sentinel

Judge William Matthewman said the Thai authorities appear to have conducted an independent investigation and have sufficient evidence to file criminal charges,the newspaper reported.

If extradited Shaw's attorney has said he could face life behind bars or even death if he is convicted or the plot.

'Plot': Shawn Abraham Shaw, 43, traveled to the Thai island of Phuket, pictured, in December 2013, where he drugged, kidnapped and then extorted millions from a friend, officials said. He has denied the claims

The extradition hearing is scheduled for March 3 in the federal court in West Palm Beach.

The judge said he would reconsider the Thai authorities evidence then, the Sun Sentinel reported.

The two men got to know each other while working out in the same gym when Shaw lived in Las Vegas, his attorney said, the Palm Beach Post reported.

Years later, Shaw came up with an idea to recover millions in uncashed gambling chips that people take home with them from trips to Las Vegas. He then traveled to Thailand to see if the other man, identified only as AMA in court records, wanted to join him in his venture, he said.

His fiance, Dawn Pasqualucci, joined him on the trip and they stayed at the man's house before leaving on good terms in December 2013, they said.

But a month later, when negotiations for the business venture fell through, AMA went to authorities and told them Shaw had kidnapped him, Shaw's attorney Michael Cohen told a judge at an earlier hearing.

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But Thai officials and the alleged victim tell a very different story.

They said that one night, Shaw and AMA were out drinking when AMA started to feel dizzy and passed out. A barman told officials that he Shaw assist or carry AMA outside of the bar.

They got into a car, where Shaw allegedly restrained the man with plastic zip ties around his wrists, ankles and neck before taking him to a building and holding him overnight.

He allegedly threatened to kill the man unless he handed over $3 million. They negotiated the amount down to $2 million, which was paid to Shaw when he returned to the U.S.

Shaw's new defense lawyer, Jason Kreiss, claimed at another previous hearing that emails from the time show that his client's activities involved a legitimate business deal, the Sun Sentinel reported.

Arrest: He was arrested at his girlfriend' home on this beach-front street in Palm Beach in November and has been held in custody ever since. He now faces extradition to Thailand to answer to the charges

The alleged victim did not report the incident to authorities until several weeks after Shaw had left the country, claiming he feared for his life and worried he would hurt his family.

Pasqualucci, 45, testified that she believed the alleged victim was a pedophile who frequented transgender bars in Thailand and that he had dished out threats of his own.

She said he had threatened to have them killed if they revealed that Shaw had seen something on the victim's computer that indicated, 'He likes little boys', the Sun Sentinel reported.

Shaw is a Guyana-born U.S. citizen who has lived in the states for about 35 years.

Federal prosecutor Aurora Fagan told the court last month that the Thai authorities should be the ones decided whose story is the true one.

'We're dealing with international law and international relations,' she said. 'They (Thai authorities) should not have to litigate their case here in American courts.'